Editor’s note: Reuters has corrected the plant investment figures that were published in an earlier version of this story.
WARSAW — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to invest 755 million zlotys ($204 million) in its plant in Tychy, Poland, Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin said on Tuesday, in a move that will see new electric and hybrid vehicles produced at the factory.
FCA said new hybrid and electric Jeep, Fiat and Alfa Romeo models would be built in Tychy. The company wants to start production of the first of three new models for the group’s brands in the second half of 2022.
The investment comes as a boost to emerging Europe’s largest economy, which is hoping a switch to EVs can help its auto sector catch up with regional rivals such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“Modern, hybrid and electric cars of the Jeep, Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands will start to leave the factory in Tychy in 2022,” Gowin wrote on Twitter.
Gowin did not name the models.
The Tychy factory currently builds the Fiat 500 and Lancia Ypsilon minicars. FCA plans to increase annual production at the plant to as many as 400,000 small cars based on PSA Group’s Common Modular Platform, according to Italian press reports earlier this year. The plant built 263,176 units in 2019.
FCA, which is planning a $38 billion merger with French rival PSA to create Stellantis, the world’s No.4 carmaker, said in a statement the early preparations for the expansion and modernization of the plant started in late 2020.
The plant in Poland’s industrial southern region of Silesia is one of the company’s largest and currently employs around 2,500 people.
In its 2018-2022 plan, FCA pledged to invest 9 billion euros in electrification as part of investment plans totaling 45 billion euros.
Automotive News Europe contributed to this report.